MGSV:GZ – These Are A Few Of My Favorite Things

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I’ve been playing Ground Zeroes here and there since I be gotten it day one. So far I’ve beaten the Main Mission a few times with a RANK D, then tonight a RANK C. Now I’m messing with the mechanics of such things as the CQC portion of gameplay.  I found a pretty nifty party trick. When in the Pause menu there’s a SCREEN TRANSFER option. I wondered what this was when I first saw it. I tried it while synced to my app. It actually let me take screen grabs during gameplay while paused and lets me transfer the saved image to either my device or to a Twitter account, which I’d use if I had one myself. As evidenced by my header above its a pretty neat feature, though the quality leaves something to be desired it’s pretty low res. Here are other shots during my last exploit:

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On my last Playthrough I unlocked an SMG to be used at the beginning of the game. I was walking around at the top of the ridge expecting it to already be in my inventory when I actually ran into the weapon box behind a Bush.

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The strange thing is since its a Submachine Gun, the tranq gun can only be swapped out to replace it with the SMG. I tried to switch it with my suppressed assault rifle but no go. Maybe I will get to unlock a suppressed sniper rifle with tranq darts. We shall see. I’ve yet to try out the day missions so I will report back my findings at a later date.

MGSV:GZ – Play It Again, Snake

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My time with the MGSV:GZ app has certainly been substantial since Ground Zeroes has released. I’ve been going mode to mode, discovering some really useful options, both for Ground Zeroes and in-app. This time around I’ve worked my way down to the Cassette Tapes. Just as you would in the game, the app is able to, while synced, access the Tapes that that have been unlocked after the first completion of the Main Mission. Available are Chico’s tapes, Mission Briefings, Peace Walker songs, and Paz’s Diary Tapes.

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These tapes are only accessible as I mentioned after first completion of the Main Mission, but Ground Zeroes is not required to be running to actually listen to these tapes. As long as you have WiFi access you can tap into the app server and listen to the tapes on your device as you would with say, you Sony Walkman. Pop in your ear buds for that added 80’s effect.

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I’ve been trying to convince some fellow MGSers to use this app as it really does add another dimension to the game. There are tons of different ways to execute gameplay and complete the available missions. And if I hadn’t said this already, every subsequent Playthrough and completion of the missions helps unlock elements in your Mother Base. Why not make it all the more viable with the trusty app?  It’s a great advantage I’m doing my best to take.

HAR HAR HAR: MGSV: Ground Zeroes ‘Half Assed Review’

[Let’s face it. Time is just something not a lot of us have on our side. Especially when it comes to gaming. It’s difficult to squeeze in a nice chunk of time to properly give a typical review, but Something is better than nothing. AMIRITE?? This is where HAR HAR HAR comes in. Or rather, “Half Assed Reviews.” It’s our version of a review, only, um, Half Assed. Enjoy!]

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I Finally got a chance to play Ground Zeroes last Friday night. It is, without a doubt, an amazing game! The sights, the sounds, and the virtual smells are awesome. The game is so atmospheric. And honestly those people who complained of a short two hour “demo” should get their heads out of their asses. Below is my play by play as I sulk, slump, and sneak through Camp Omega. This transcript is in bullet point format, cuz HAR (Half Assed Review), so I might sound like a dork. Enjoy.

[Played on my PS3 for about 4-5 hours on first Playthrough]

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G’day M8 (HTC One 2014 1st Takes)

Sitting here next to my keyboard is HTC’s brand new flagship phone, the One…wait, I thought, they already had a One, um..

Yeah, HTC didn’t get too fancy with the nomenclature, like calling it the One-2, or the One-A, or what have you, but just left it the same.  In fact they left a lot the same, the same awesome build quality, the same awesome boom sound speakers, same single piece aluminium, same ultra pixel camera.  But unlike the name, they did improve upon what made the original One great.

At first glance, you will be struggling to see that it’s an all new phone, but upon closer inspection, you will notice it just that much bigger, and that much rounder, which actually makes it a lot nicer to hold.  the rounded edges on the M8 makes it feel more at home in my hand, but at the same time, it feels like it will slip off, unlike the previous model, where the corners made it feel grippy.

I was afraid that with Beats and HTC parting ways, boom sound will be less ‘boomy’, but they improved on what should be a standard on all handheld devices.  I played a song one after another, and the M8’s boom sound speakers were more powerful, and sounded a tad more punchier.  I will have to do some more listening though, as Beats provided audio enhancements with headphones attached as well.

Now let’s move on the the camera.  The front facer, is now a 5 MP sensor, and should do nicely to all those that are addicted to selfies (self included).  The rear camera though, still remains a 4 UltraPixel, but with an added ‘depth’ sensor, which allows for post shot fun.  From the little I have played with it, it looks more like a gimmicky type thing, but w/ the API being out on the Google Play store, I am really excited as to what other developers can do with it.

To round out the phone, the extra bit of width actually made it easier for me to type and hold the phone a bit.  Sense 6.0 is slick, but I have not yet been able to dive deep and check out what’s new under the hood. Battery life has said to have improved some 40%, so I am hoping that it’s true. I still have to spend more time with this device, so look forward to my Half Assed Review.

I will be cutting and uploading some footage shortly, so look forward to that also. For now, enjoy some comparison shots between the M7 (old One), and the M8 (new One).

 

 

A Quicky Of Me Playing MGS: Peace Walker

Here’s me doing a really REALLY quick bootleg capture of Peace Walker. I miss knocking on walls as misdirection to fool these guards. Also, the CQC in PW is one of the post intuitive systems in any MGS thus far, predating Ground Zeroes. PW is easily one of the best MGS games to have been made. I have over 100+hrs accrued since it’s release in 2010 and I STILL haven’t finished it 100%! Here’s a YouTube user’s clip of Consecutive CQC. For me it’s a smoother seqience, transitioning from one soldier to the next.

The Consecutive CQC in GZ is cool but seems too quick-cut and shaky-cam. Not a complaint by any means, just a mere observation. I’ll put up a quicky of Portable Ops next time to show you the mechanics and how it is essentially MGS3 for PSP.

MGSV:GZ – There’s An App For That

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Continuing my usage of the Ground Zeroes app I decided to give iDroid mode a second go. As it turns out, the app will only sync if my console (in this case my PS3) is on WiFi, which it is due to the router being in the bedroom while my Slim sits in the living room. Syncage (is that a word?) is as easy as a few quick taps on the screen which takes me to my own personal iDroid HUD. What you’d see in-game is exactly what you get in-app.

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MGSV:GZ Mothershutyourmouth!

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So I’ve been using the MGSV:GZ app that’s been provided to use through the Apple Appstore and Google Play since Ground Zeroes’ release. I have to say, at first I was a bit confused about how to use it. I started messing with it a bit more and now got the hang of management. Kinda. It’s similar to Peace Walker’s Mother Base management with some differences. (more…)